Here is yet another comparison between the top representatives of the modern muscle car era, the Ford Shelby GT500 and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Normally I would wait a little longer to post this after the Motor Trend comparison, but I thought Chris Harris offered some fresh insights into these cars. He’s from the UK and spends most of his time driving cars in Europe, so he hasn’t had as much exposure to American muscle cars. Between the two comparisons, you get a really complete picture of what the two cars are like. Harris spends time in both cars driving them around Manhattan at slow speeds and then takes them the track at Monticello to see how they perform at high speeds.
Motor Trend is maintaining a very high level of excellence with their YouTube shows. Editor in Chief Angus Mackenzie and professional driver Randy Pobst weigh in here on this battle to see who has made the best modern muscle car, Ford or Chevrolet. You could even go as far as to say that these two cars represent the state of the muscle car genre. They no longer settle for only going in a straight line well. In fact, they test the Laguna Seca lap time before the drag race for this video and Motor Trend loves to do drag races. Besides the testing, Mackenzie and Pobst do a phenomenal job describing the details and nuances of each car so you can understand their natures even if you never get to drive one in real life.
Motor Trend has been doing this series on YouTube that pits two cars “Head 2 Head.” This episode is particularly interesting for more reasons than just the Mustang vs. Camaro rivalry. It’s old school analog vs. new school digital. The new Camaro ZL1 is GM’s first entry into the world of the electronic sports car that was ushered in by the Nissan GT-R in 2008. It’s been equipped with a sophisticated traction control system and magnetorheological shocks. Traditional shocks use valves that restrict oil flow through its body to control motion. The magnetorheological shocks use electromagnets to control the flow of magnetic fluid through their bodies. This allows a computer to read the road surface with a sensor and then adjust the damping forces of the shock with the electromagnets. The same type of system is used on the Cadillac CTS-V, Corvette ZR-1 and the Ferrari 458 Italia, but the ZL1’s shocks are the latest generation of the technology.
What this showdown boils down to is the digital vs. analog driving experience. The computers in the ZL1 aid the driver in maximizing the potential of the car when putting down lap times. However, it still doesn’t drive the car for you. A driver with skills will still put down faster times than a novice in the ZL1. That’s where cars like the Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca come on. The Mustang can be driven without driver aids. What the car does is in direct response to the driver’s input. The analog car gives you plenty of feedback so you can push to the absolute limits. Get it wrong and it will punish you, but that’s how you learn to become a better driver. The digital age of the sports car is great, but I hope that it grows hand in hand with the traditional analog car instead of completely taking it over. I think both are necessary so that drivers can grow along with technology of the cars. The technology has to amplify driver skill, not replace it.
